The critically acclaimed anime film Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway, the first installment in a planned trilogy, was re-edited into an episodic television mini-series titled Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway TV Edition. This four-episode version originally aired in Japan from January 15 to February 5, 2023, taking over the broadcast slot of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. A new broadcast of this TV edition has also been announced for January 2026 on Nippon Television, preceding the theatrical release of the second film in the trilogy.
The Original 2023 Broadcast: Introducing Universal Century to New Fans
The Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway TV Edition was a strategic move by Bandai Namco as part of their “GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE” initiative. This effort aimed to onboard new fans who were captivated by Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury into the rich, long-standing Universal Century timeline of the Gundam franchise. The television mini-series compressed the events of the feature film into four distinct episodes, airing on Sundays at 5:00 PM JST across 28 MBS/TBS networks nationwide.
The first episode of the TV edition was notably titled “Landing Ground,” a direct reference to chapter 6, volume 1 of the original novel series penned by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. This episodic format allowed for a broader reach, making the complex narrative of Hathaway more accessible to a wider audience, particularly those unfamiliar with its cinematic predecessor or the Universal Century continuity.
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway Film Background
Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, often shortened to Gundam Hathaway, is an official sequel to the 1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. Set in U.C. 0105, twelve years after the Second Neo Zeon War (Char’s Rebellion), the story follows Hathaway Noa, the son of the legendary Earth Federation Forces officer Bright Noa. Hathaway, now operating under the alias Mafty Navue Erin, leads an anti-Earth Federation organization known as “Mafty,” which engages in acts of terrorism to combat the increasingly corrupt Earth Federation government.
The first film, directed by Shukou Murase, premiered in Japanese theaters on June 11, 2021, and later became available globally on Netflix starting July 1, 2021. It achieved significant box office success, earning over 2.21 billion yen and selling more than 1.08 million tickets, making it the second highest-grossing Gundam film to date.
Upcoming 2026 Broadcast and the Second Film
While the original TV edition broadcast was in 2023, there’s a renewed interest as a TV broadcast of Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash TV Edition (the first film’s TV edit) is scheduled to air on Nippon Television’s “AnichU” slot every Tuesday night starting January 6, 2026. This re-broadcast coincides with the highly anticipated theatrical release of the second film in the trilogy, titled Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe (also known as Gundam Hathaway: The Witch of Circe), which is set to premiere in Japanese theaters on January 30, 2026.
The second film, which will continue Hathaway’s story as he encounters Federation officer Kenneth Sleg and the mysterious Gigi Andalucia, has been long-awaited by fans. Kensho Ono and Reina Ueda are returning to voice Hathaway Noa and Gigi Andalucia, respectively. This strategic re-airing of the first film’s TV version serves to refresh the audience’s memory and build hype for the continuation of the Hathaway saga.
